education

As many schools throughout Wisconsin get ready to take their winter breaks, the Public Policy Forum releases its 32nd annual public education report: Public Schooling in Southeast Wisconsin: 2017. In this year’s analysis, we find reason for cautious...

It’s been a busy year for the Forum. Despite all of the work involved with our merger with WISTAX, our research agenda has remained robust and our research findings have been the subject of policy deliberations on many fronts. Here, we take one more...

Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS), the City of Milwaukee, and Milwaukee County all confront a common challenge. They are squeezed by both revenue and expenditure constraints – forces like stagnant state aids, limited tax-base growth, health care and...

School district budget season is here. And with it, no shortage of debate on how to invest scarce resources to give students in Greater Milwaukee the best possible education money can buy. Of the factors driving how well young people are prepared...

Most elected officials and civic leaders agree that investment in programming for Milwaukee's youth must be a critical component of citywide efforts to combat poverty, reduce violence, and appropriately prepare our future workforce. Yet what is the...

My guess is that the headline in today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel proclaiming that Milwaukee Public Schools unfunded retiree benefit costs "fall to under $1 billion" leaves most citizens scratching their heads. Is a long-term liability that still...

As students and teachers rapidly approach the midpoint of the school year, a new, comprehensive report from the Public Policy Forum highlights the academic successes and challenges in the region. The report, Public Schooling in Southeast Wisconsin:...

In 2011, Wisconsin implemented YoungStar, a child care quality rating and improvement system. The goals of YoungStar included improving the quality of child care within the state, creating an easy way for parents to identify and choose quality child...

Synergy, according to the Miriam-Webster Dictionary, is the increased effectiveness that results when two or more people or businesses work together. It exists in business ventures and public-private collaborations, and even amongst non-profits;...

The Public Policy Forum's annual review of the Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) superintendent's proposed budget finds plenty to like. But, as is typically the case with MPS finances, we find red flags, as well.
The most striking element of the...